LUCKNOW: Reacting to the purported offer extended by Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav to Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Maurya to part ways with the BJP and become the CM, newly elected UP BJP chief Bhupendra Singh Chaudhury advised the SP chief to worry about his MLAs and allies who were allegedly in contact with the ruling party.
Responding to Yadav's statement given during a programme organised by a news channel, Chaudhury took to Twitter saying that Maurya was a certified and dedicated worker of the party who is devoted to the BJP’s ideology. "Keshav ji is a certified worker of the organisation, of the party and dedicated to the ideology of BJP. He will always be with us, he is not a leader who falls in selfishness," Chaudhary tweeted.
In another tweet, Chaudhary said, "Akhilesh Yadav should worry about his alliance, his family, his party, and his MLAs because his MLAs are in touch with us."
Yadav had reportedly suggested Maurya for a grand alliance against the BJP on the lines of Bihar where Nitish Kumar tied up with RJD and Congress to make government.
However, in the recent legislative Assembly polls, Maurya had lost to Apna Dal-Kamerawadi leader Pallavi Patel who had contested on the SP ticket from Sirathu, Maurya's traditional seat.
The SP won 111 seats and its ally Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) eight. Two other alliance partners Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (six MLAs) and Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party-Lohia (one MLA) have since then parted ways with the SP. The BJP has 255 seats and its National Democratic Alliance (NDA) 272 in the 403-member state Assembly.
Significantly, Akhilesh and Maurya had a face-off on the floor of the Assembly which had hit the headlines and the SP chief had drawn widespread criticism over the use of unparliamentary language against Maurya.